Sasha grinned as she logged onto Best of Best. She received a message from the system and closed it. It was just the greeting message for logging on. She looked around her and saw that although she was still in the same grassy plains that she had been in before but her teammates hadn’t logged in yet. She glanced around and saw some baby treants roaming the grassy plain.
'Well they should be here soon so I might as well kill some monsters.'
*crack*
Sasha flinched and jumped back as the ground around her started to crack and break, dirt flying upwards as something small flew out of it. A massive hole had been created in the ground right were she had been standing a moment earlier.
“Mademoiselle?”
A girl had appeared in front of her. She was incredibly slim but she held a very big and threatening broadsword in her hands. Sasha couldn't help but think that the girl had a calming air around her, as though she were a small dog to be petted instead of a vicious warrior. It wasn’t the nice kind of aura that Andross let out when he saw her, full of loving and kindness but instead something that seemed to call for her to look after and cherish the girl in front of her.
“Err,’
Sasha looked closely at the newcomer and saw that the girl was wearing incredibly shiny armour and didn’t seem at all affected by the dirt that she had just come out of. Her black hair was flowing over her shoulders and slipping around the steel shoulder plates it rested on. She looked like some sort of knight that was trying to save a damsel in distress from a terrible monster.
‘She has the most beautiful green eyes.’
Sasha had never seen the girl before but Andross had told her about the events from two days before. She hadn’t expected to see any of his companions in the grassy plains outside of Trinim but unless green eyes and broadswords were a common combination then this girl was almost definitely the player known as Serena.
‘Umm, how did Gold describe her?’
His exact words were something like, “She’s pretty quiet, but she gets crazy when she starts fighting.”
“Hello?” Sasha’s eyes widened and she cried out as Serena appeared in front of her. The girl gave a small shriek as Sasha suddenly reacted and stepped back from her. She had walked up to Sasha after she had been lost in thought and stopped talking and Sasha hadn’t noticed her at all. Sasha giggled a little bit at Serena’s reaction and the girl giggled along with her. It was as if all the tension in the air had instantly disappeared and the two were already friends.
“Mademoiselle?”
Sasha frowned slightly and nodded as Serena called her by her username again, ‘Gold didn’t mention telling anybody about me’. Serena seemed relieved at her confirmation and walked up to Sasha again, a little more carefully this time just in case the girl suddenly let out another cry.
“Um, I’m going to help you.”
Serena nervously shuffled her feet as she faced Sasha. She had curiosity written all over her face and it was clear to Sasha that she expected some sort of answer from her. Sasha had no idea what she was talking about. So she decided to do what she always did and go straight to the point.
“Help me? What do you mean?”
“Um, a lady that looked like you,” Serena waved her hands in an outline of Serena’s figure, “except with black hair and dark blue eyes.” Andross had mentioned this lookalike, the Blessed Smith that had given him the quest to free the player killer Orion, “She asked me to stay with you for the next day. She said you know Commoner.”
“Yes I do know Commoner but, stay with me? Why would she want you to stay with me?”
Serena’s eyes widened slightly and Sasha could see that she had been hoping Sasha could elaborate for her. Sasha flicked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear as she grew slightly irritated. She had no way to contact Andross since they were both in Best of Best and hadn’t registered each other as friends yet. As far as she knew she had no connection at all with the quest that he was currently doing.
“I’m not sure. She looked like you so, um, that means you have one of her items?”
As though it could hear Serena’s words a staff made of white metal that Sasha had recently been given appeared in her hands and she felt a small pang of guilt tugging at her heart. She hadn’t told Andross that she’d gotten a weapon similar to his own but she’d been meaning to. Once he wasn’t busy with his quest.
“Yeh like that,” Serena nodded her head to herself as though confirming some inner thoughts, “The lady always looks like the last person to pick up one of her things. She asked me to-”
“Hang on,” Sasha quickly interrupted Serena and the girl shut her mouth to listen to the confident girl in front of her, “She changes her form to the last person that picked up one of her items?”
“Yup.”
‘But Gold said that she had told him that she transformed into one of the loved ones of the person she was talking to.’
“So she doesn’t look like one of the loved ones of the person she’s talking to?”
Serena cocked her head to the side and her smooth hair slid further over her shoulder plate, “Don’t think so.” She thought for a second and nodded to herself again, “Yup. Unless she doesn’t want to, then she looks like an old woman.”
Sasha stared at the staff in front of her. She had been killing baby treants in the outskirts of Trinim when an old lady wearing a white dress had approached her and told her she had the characteristics of a great priestess. Sasha had apologized and said that she had no money to spare but the old lady had simply laughed in a melodious voice and handed her a staff made of a metallic substance that gleamed white. Sasha had logged out after that without equipping the weapon since she wanted to wake up before Andross and shower before going to bed. It was clear now that the old lady had been the Blessed Smith and that straight after handing her the staff she had gone to Andross to give him the quest.
‘What are you planning?’
“What did she ask you to do?”
“That’s a good question. Mind if I join in the conversation?”
Sasha and Serena turned and found themselves facing a muscular man wearing expensive looking armour. Sasha noted that he wasn’t the nice kind of muscular that Andross was but instead a burly and mean looking type. His face was pretty dull as well with several scars and a mean glare coming from his eyes. His appearance contrasted with the nice looking armour he was wearing. It was a jumble of silver and gold plates that shone bright enough as it reflected the sunlight to be seen from a mile away. He looked like some sort of bandit or robber that had gotten lucky and killed a knight or noble at some point. The girls tensed and both equipped their weapons.
“Woah relax.”
As he raised his hands Sasha got a better look at him. He had a face that looked like it had been hit quite a few times and was fairly unattractive in general and his eyes were a dull brown. He frowned and the girl’s couldn’t help but think that it made his face uglier than it already was.
“Something went wrong somewhere. I’m not here to hurt you.”
He took a step towards the girls and Serena blurred before appearing in front of him with her broadsword dropping down onto his head. Her shiny steel armour and chain vest jangled against each other as she flew through the air.
*Clang*
The man leant backwards as Serena’s broadsword swung towards him and he grunted. He had materialized a weapon at the last second to block the attack. Sasha recognized the white metal which she had seen both in pictures Andross had made her look up and from her own weapon which she had gained. It was one of the Blessed Smith’s creations just as his was.
The man saw the staff in her hand in her hand and grinned. Serena had stopped attacking as well and jumped away from the man as he waved his own legendary sword at her. Serena had calmed down as soon as she saw the sword but she still looked ready to attack the man at any second.
“The name’s Titan.”
He grinned.
“And I’m here to guard your life.”
“So you were sent to me by the Blessed Smith as well?”
The man nodded and Serena walked back to Sasha’s side. She had seen from that small clash that she was no match for the man in front of her and Sasha could see that both were completely out of her league in terms of fighting.
‘These are people that should be killing monsters not standing here and talking with me.’
“So,” she looked at the new arrival and noted that despite his appearance he was emitting a relatively calm and happy aura. She didn’t feel threatened in his presence at all after the initial shock of his sudden appearance “no chance the Blessed Smith told you why you have to come here?”
The man shrugged, “The Blessed Smith only told me two things, first that your name was Mademoiselle and then she put your location in my mind.”
Sasha raised her eyebrows, she hadn’t gotten a quest yet but Andross had mentioned the same thing being done to him “And the second thing?”
“That in a few hours a lot of strong people are going to try and kill you.”
~~~~
“Orion has logged back in sir.”
Chapman smiled and he sheathed his sword. The player that had been lying in front of him instantly disappeared as the last of his health vanished. He would re-spawn in the dungeon cells and would be killed over and over again if he kept refusing to join the guild.
“Thanks.”
The guild member saluted and left the room. Chapman took his time getting out of his swivel chair. There was no need to rush to the dungeons when his prey wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, he had other methods to communicate with her. He stretched his arms from side to side and yawned, opening his friends list with his thoughts. He found the name he was looking for and sent the player a private message.
“How do you enjoy living in a world of darkness?”
“If you get all mystic and voodoo on me I’ll just log out until the executions over.”
The sharp reply came immediately over the private message system and he grinned. He had made it so that only his avatar could be messaged while Orion was in her prison. She must have been pretty pissed when she found out that she couldn’t message any of her teammates or comrades.
“I’m just kidding! I’m not one of those people that get so into the game that their speech warps. I’m in it for the money just like you are. We’re basically kindred spirits if you think about it like that.”
“I think I just vomited a little bit in my mouth.”
“Then I’ll apply to your reason.” He heard her cough in disgust but continued speaking, “Don’t be silly Orion, you know as well as I do that the moment you log in after missing the execution time you’ll die a hundred times over on the spot.”
It was a security measure put in place by the game so that users couldn’t simply log out when their execution or other sentence was scheduled. Chapman smiled as he heard Orion spit at her cell floor and was giddy physically as he imagined the small act of rebellion in his mind. The players that he trapped in a cell always had something to say to him when he came over and it always interested him to see what they would do next. It was a nice little sympathy gift for them, after all, in the end he would be the one having the last laugh. He had already begun to walk towards the lower guild levels where her cell was located. He could hear the yelling of prisoners as they threw swear words and curses at him. He smiled and gave each prisoner a small wave, their orange jumpsuits were the only thing visible to him as he had long ago stopped looking at their angry faces.
“I’ll have the satisfaction of seeing your face when I watch your live stream and see no one being led up to the execution stand. How do you think your fans will react when they come for a show and get nothing?”
His smile fell slightly as Orion uttered those words. She knew that he intended to stream the event live on the forums for all to see but it would all be ruined if she didn’t turn up. But his smile formed again as he passed by a small clump of cells and saw the occupants inside. He had a trump card up his sleeve.
“You know it’s really a pity about your teammates,” He waited a few seconds but Orion didn’t speak, “Even after we told them what had happened and showed them the video footage they refused to believe that you had betrayed them, so we had to lock them in the cells, after all, they were associated with a known traitor and we couldn’t risk them trying to break you out.”
“They had noth-”
“It would be a pity,” Chapman immediately cut her off, “if they tried to escape while they were there, perhaps a friendly guard offers them a way out and they’re desperate enough to take it. Maybe we simply tell them they can go free but it wasn’t actually approved. We might have to kill them just as much as we’re going to do to you if something like that happened. And in a game like this where there’s only one account per person it would be a darn shame for something like that to happen.”
“You’re a bastard you know that?”
Chapman smiled as he sensed the defeat in her voice, “I’m so glad that you’re going to be staying for your execution Orion. You know we actually expect to pull in quite the number of viewers for this little event. It’s not every day that you get to see one of the twelve legendary swords live. We even hired extra security to guard the plaza. Who knows what fools might try to grab the sword the moment it decides to abandon you.”
As he entered the back cells he got a good look at his prize prisoner, Orion, and turned off his private messaging system to talk to her out loud. As he began to speak she lifted her head up and he got a good look at her cloudy hazel eyes. They were filled with such rage that if he hadn’t been standing over her locked up body then he would have stepped back in fear. She had shackles attached to her ankles and wrists and a collar was wrapped around her neck. All of them were attached to the wall behind her by chains.
“It really was helpful that you added me to your friend list. I feel so honored to be part of such a small group.”
Orion’s ebony hair seemed to shimmer as she shook her head at his small provocation. He smiled. The ones that weren’t easy to break were always enjoyable to play with, but he was here on different business. He motioned with his hands and the two guards that were watching over the floor exited outside. The cells had been full of players the day before but in order to keep Orion from spilling their plan to grab the sword to others, not to mention their treasonous act of killing the expedition members, they had isolated her area from all other users. Her guards were slightly lower leveled but they were all completely loyal to the Sunfire guild.
“Well I’m just here to explain the basic plan for today’s event.” She seemed more surprised than angry at his words, “What? Were you thinking your job is to just get up there and die? That’s no fun.”
He looked down at her orange prisoner clothes and threw a somewhat see-through white cloth which could be wrapped from her shoulder and end laced around the top of her ankles. She looked in surprise at the cloth he handed to her.
“Do you know the meaning behind your name? Or did you just pick Orion because it sounded cool?” Orion didn’t answer and Chapman sighed, he had suspected that she was one of those players that just picked any name they thought would sound good. “That’s no fun Orion, you see, if we’re going to get viewers then we need some sort of gimmick, something that attracts the crowds to actually watch our stream over any others in the forum.”
Orion frowned, “And you came up with making me dress skimpily?”
“I won’t deny the fact that you have a great body.” He viewed her, the jumpsuit covered her entire body but he knew from their time together on the expedition that she had supple breasts which would attract the more lecherous of the forum’s viewers whilst her long legs and pretty face would also draw in the crowds, but he shook his head at her words, “But it’s definitely not about that. You see, we’re going to be going from a different angle for this execution. Have you heard the story of Orion the hunter?”
She shook her head. She knew she had to cooperate since there would be no benefit in her taking rebellion against him now. She silently listened to his words with her head down.
“Well he’s basically the guy you picked your name from.”
She cocked her head up at his words. “I thought it was a constellation.”
“No, no, we’ll get to that part.” Chapman was shaking his head, “Because Orion was a hunter you know, one so fearsome that every creature in the world feared extinction if he were to seriously try to go on the hunt. That’s where those clothes come in,” he pointed to the cloth he had handed her, “it’ll make you look like him and it’s just lucky for us that you happen to be a player killer. So basically this Orion guy was a hunter just like you, and we’re going to dress the town in these sorts of decorations like animal masks and stuff. For the kids you know?” he waved his hands in the air as he spoke as though illustrating what would happen, “but then there’s a special little gimmick involved.” He made sure she was listening for this part, “Because you see, when Orion died he was turned into a constellation, also named Orion, and that’s what we want to do with you when you die.”
“So you’re going to try and turn me into a star or something?”
His sandy hair bobbed as he nodded enthusiastically, “It’ll be a great show that only we can do. Because, when one of the legendary swords transfers from one owner to another a flash of light encompasses both of them. It’s incredibly bright and lasts a good second or two so in that time we’ll make you disappear, probably to the dungeon again or even let you go free, and we’ve hired someone to make a hologram of a whole bunch of stars appearing in your place.”
Orion’s frown deepened, “It sounds a little artsy fartsy for an execution. Why bother to go through all the flowery crap? You were threatening my teammate’s lives like five minutes ago.”
“It’s just good business Orion, I don’t need to bother you as long as I know I’ll get the sword and as long as you act defeated and all that crap then the audience will eat it up and we’ll get a fair bunch of revenue from the live stream. Honestly we were planning to kill you either way since we needed someone to blame for the expedition member’s deaths but that doesn’t mean that we can’t use that fact coupled with the appearance of a legendary sword to rake in the views. And of course if you try to tell anyone what we did we’ll just deny it.” He tapped the side of his head, “Video evidence and testimonies you know.”
He entered a squat and looked at her in the eyes, “That’s the only item you’re allowed to wear so I expect you to change into it as soon as we bring you out of this cell. Try to run way or attack anyone and your teammates die. It wouldn’t be a good idea either way since we already have the live stream going to show the setting up of festivities and hype it up. The moment you try anything we’ll report it and bring the camera to you. It’ll just lead to us getting more views as people come looking to see some action.”
The guards re-entered the dungeon and Chapman stood up. He started to walk towards the exit and put his hand up to wave to the prisoner behind him as he left.
“Either way you’re going to die so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
~~~~
You have logged back onto Best of Best. Current location: Outskirts of Obsten.
Commoner closed the window that had opened up in front of him after he had logged in and found that he was facing the edge of the cliff he had just recently thrown a sword over. Beyond the main road below the town of Obsten lay blurred in the distance, a good two hours away by walking. It was covered by a light fog that was slowly getting darker as the sun lowered on the horizon behind him.
“Oh me, oh my,” Commoner almost jumped out of his skin as a small yet firm voice called out to him, “you’re not supposed to come out of thin air like that sonny. You could have given this old man a heart attack.”
As Commoner turned around he was surprised to see that the green clearing that had been empty when he left was completely filled by a large carriage that seemed more like a travelling hippy caravan with its red and yellow paint job than anything regal like you would see in vintage films. Two horses were calmly grazing and walking around what little clearing wasn’t covered by the vehicle and in front of the carriage entrance an old man was sitting on a rocking chair and calmly rocking back and forward while looking at Commoner.
“Oh me, oh my, if it isn’t the Shadow Mask Mercenary King himself, it appears that quite a big shot has appeared in front of us. Do take it easy on an old man such as myself. The old heart can only take so much excitement sonny.”
Commoner cautiously stepped towards the man at the mention of his title. The old timer was incredibly short and covered in small clumps of muscles that looked long past their prime. It was as though he had been incredibly fit at some stage of his life but then had let himself go. The passage of time had clearly affected him badly as his skin was covered head to toe in wrinkles of the kind that developed after someone had been in the sun for most of their life. He was wearing denim shorts with suspenders strapped over his shoulders and looped around his chest. His torso was covered in a light blue short sleeved t-shirt and he was wearing a straw hat. To top it all off he was wearing socks and sandals. He was distinctly Asian in origin as Commoner noted the slightly slanted eyes and calm composure which often surrounded those of oriental birth.
Commoner couldn't help but think that the man looked like a mix between a country side bumpkin and an old man wearing kids clothing. He didn’t seem threatening at all and Commoner could see from the person’s posture that he didn’t mean any harm.
‘But then again, I’ve been tricked about people’s intentions a lot lately.’
Be careful. This is Grandfather Time but I haven’t told him anything about you so not sure why he’s here. But if he wanted to kill you, you would probably be dead by now.
‘Thanks for the encouraging words.’
Except for his thoughts Commoner stayed silent at Carlos’ private message. His Hispanic friend was watching his every move from the outside world via his recording device so that he could type his story as it went along. His reactions would become more delayed as more time passed and the time difference caught up to him. When viewing things from the game in the outside world the video would automatically slow down events to fit real life time and this would automatically cause a delay between what was happening inside the game and what the person outside was seeing because four seconds of video would be created for every one second of real life time spent in the game. Commoner walked closer to the old man but before he could ask any questions the man spat on the ground beside him.
“Well don’t just stand there staring at me sonny-boy, come on in.”
Grandfather Time knocked on the red and yellow door of his carriage and it creaked open. The inside was filled with darkness and Commoner hesitated a second before walking inside. He was unarmed and his only armour was his cloak which offered no protection at all, if he was going to be assassinated then now would be the time to do it. Instead of anything dangerous Commoner was surprised to find that the inside was spacious and filled with armours of different sizes and types. It was also well lit compared to what he had seen from outside the door. There were shields of green crystal and golden chest plates crusted with diamonds and other precious gems. It was an awe-inspiring sight for Commoner who had never seen even the most basic of armour to now be surrounded by hundreds of items of precious equipment.
‘It’s bigger on the inside.’
Commoner could immediately tell that some sort of magic was at work. The carriage he had entered could not possibly have held all of this equipment. The room seemed big enough to hold an Olympic swimming pool or a library if Grandfather Time wished to put one in there. An old lady was staring at him from a counter and he walked up to her.
‘This must be Grandma.’
The old woman looked the same as the old man physically. She had wrinkled skin that had seen a lot of sunlight in its time and her features were distinctly Asian in appearance. She was wearing a set of plain bronze armour that strangely complemented her slightly tanned skin. Except for the slightly pointed lips and nose as well as longer hair he could have sworn that he was looking at Grandfather Time. She immediately held out a suit of armour towards him and he grasped it in his hands.
‘Sheesh, these guys came prepared for me.’
He looked at the armour in his hands. It was the same black colour as his velcro shirt and pants and felt like it was made of the same material. He tapped the armour with the intention of checking what it was and a window popped up in front of his eyes.
You have viewed the item: Pretty Damn Awesome Merc Armour. Stats: 35% Magic and Physical defence. Weight: 5kg, Description: This mercenary armour was designed by Grandma to be both lightweight and durable so that mercenaries can work agilely whilst also live against tough hits. Cost: 1000 gold coins.
‘Holy crap, a thousand gold coins, these guys must be crazy.’ He turned to Grandma, “No chance you’re giving me this armour for free?”
“No.”
Commoner sighed, ‘Open, status window: Money.”
You have 1000 gold coins, 50 silver coins and 78 bronze coins.
‘Oh, I actually have a thousand gold coins.’ He hadn’t bothered to check his purse before but it seemed like he had actually gained a large sum of money from defeated the Guardian of the Sylvern Forest. He couldn’t think of any other way to have earned such a large amount in the time he’d been playing. The extra silver and bronze coins must have been from the kobolds.
“Grandma,” one of the first things Andross had been taught by his acting instructor was to always use a person’s name when addressing them, it made them happier psychologically and more likely to do you favors or feel good in your company, “no chance you can give me a discount? A thousand coins is a bit-”
“No.”
It was an instant shut down. Commoner sighed and tried again.
“It’s an incredibly lovely store you have here-”
“No.”
She had denied him before he had even been able to make a new offer. She was clearly a shrewd businesswoman. Commoner peeked outside and saw that Grandfather Time was still sitting down calmly on his rocking chair. He stepped back inside the store towards the old lady. Commoner had other ways to deal with hard to crack female attendants.
He sighed, “very well, I can tell we’ll be here a while so…” He slowly slipped off his cloak and purposely allowed it flow loose around his shoulders and drop to the ground, revealing the tight black velcro shirt and pants underneath. Since they already knew who he was there was no harm in allowing them to see his mask.
“Excuse me while I get comfortable.”
He started stretching and allowed every single finely chiseled ab to ripple across his shirt and he forced his impeccable pecks to stand out more. He tightened his biceps for good measure and swung his hip around to allow the old woman to get a look as his firm butt, aptly titled ‘Bootiest male booty’ earlier that year in the most popular woman’s magazine.
“Would you reconsider a simple hundred gold off of the price?” He smiled behind his mask to add to his arsenal of weapons pointed at the store woman, had the old lady been a normal foe she would have long ago fallen to his charms.
“No.”
It was another instant shut down.
Take the offer.
The familiar ping of a message being received resounded in Commoner’s ears and he read Carlos’ message. It had taken a few minutes for him to send the message from the time he had seen Grandma offer him the armour from the recording device. Commoner sighed and as he pulled all of his money out of his inventory it appeared in the form of a large bag on the counter. He pushed it towards Grandma.
“Here you go, pleasure doing business with you.”
Although he was sure he had been ripped off in some way he was ever the gentlemen as he left the carriage and found himself in the daylight of the outside world again. He trusted Carlos’ words and he equipped the armour and then put his cloak over it. He felt almost no difference between wearing this new armour and his old clothing.
‘Status window.’
Status ScreenNameCommonerLevel64ClassShadow Mask Mercenary KingFame2000Health3000Mana400Free Stat Points0Stamina10 + 30Strength270 + 30Agility105 + 30Vitality10 + 30Dexterity10 + 30Intelligence10 + 30Wisdom10 + 30SkillsShadow StrikeWeapon MasteryHideQuick StrikeShadow Strengthening[p=left]Mercenary Commissions: None[/p]
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
“The armour’s statistics won’t show up on your status window.” Commoner turned around to face the old man and the old man grinned, “It’s not the same as your mask sonny boy.”
Commoner thought about his armour and found that a new window opened up, listing his increased magic defence and physical defence. He also realised that his skills weren’t listing their levels and experience. He decided to check one of his random skills.
‘Check weapon mastery.’
Weapon mastery:
Skills available:
Stick mastery.
‘Check: Stick Mastery.”
Stick Mastery: Level 3. Experience until the next level: 87%
The user will be granted 6% granted bonus damage when using a stick as a weapon.
“Oh me, oh my, you’re going to need a lot more than just that if you want to defeat the Devil Mask mercenary king.”
Commoner stared in surprise at Grandfather Time and the old man winked at him. He lifted himself off his rocking chair and the horses walked up to him, lowering their heads so that he could run his hands through their manes.
“But then again young one, it’s not my place to tell you how to do your job. I believe you’ve already guessed why I’m here. After all,” he faced Commoner and the player felt a slight tingling sensation crawl down his spine, “I can see that you received the same quest as us from the Blessed Smith.”
“So you also hold one of the legendary swords?”
Grandfather time stroked at his chin and Commoner realized that there were wisps of white hair growing from it. Coupled with the man’s straw hat it reminded him of the ancient martial arts masters he had seen prevalent in wuxia films and television shows. Grandfather Time shook his head at Commoner.
“Do not think to give away such delicate information to old stranger so easy sonny boy.” He lifted his hands in front of his face and a giant double sided hammer that was easily three times the old man’s height appeared in them, it was made of the same white colour the legendary swords were and both hammer heads were engraved with intricate spiral designs, “I hold a Warhammer made by the Blessed Smith. I have never been one for swords.” If he hadn’t known that the material the weapons were made of weighed next to nothing Commoner would have been surprised that the old man could even carry the hammer let alone swing it around in a fight. Commoner equipped his own sword.
‘Status window open.’
Status ScreenNameCommonerLevel64ClassShadow Mask Mercenary KingFame2000 + 5000Health7000 + 7000Mana3400Free Stat Points0Stamina10 + 330Strength270 + 1330Agility105 + 330Vitality10 + 330Dexterity10 + 330Intelligence10 + 330Wisdom10 + 330SkillsShadow StrikeWeapon MasteryHideQuick StrikeShadow Strengthening[p=left]Mercenary Commissions: None[/p]
Commoner quickly un-equipped the sword but kept the status window open. It still held the stats he had gained from the sword and would continue to do so until he closed it. Just by looking at them he could tell that while he held the sword he was immeasurably more powerful than he was seconds earlier. If he took into account the extra Strength points alone then he had gained two hundred and sixty levels worth of stat points in that area. Taking into account all the other stats including increased health points and he was many levels higher than he had been before.
Except for Agility and Vitality almost all the other stats had no effect on him or affected him negatively. He had almost no use for Intelligence as it raised his mana pool and none of his skills needed large mana requirements since they used his shadow instead and Wisdom was meant to lower cast time for spells but he had no spells with large cast times. Vitality was helpful as it increased the amount of health he regenerated per five seconds. He would regenerate three hundred and forty health points per five seconds since he had 340 stat points in Vitality. The increased health points given by the sword would also be a large help in increasing his tanking abilities. It was a sword worthy of being called ‘Vitality’. Agility would of course allow him to move faster and dodge attacks easily. The increased fame was the only detriment he could see but it didn’t matter when he would soon be getting rid of the sword.
“Hmm, good, good, I suppose you will have to be the one that goes into the dungeon to free the girl then. Unfortunately you are too weak to handle all the guards at the execution stand at once. You seem strong enough to handle anybody below their guild leader’s level in a one on one fight. Just one shot the guards in the dungeon. They should all be lower levelled peons since the strong guild members will be on the top.”
The old man had somehow managed to sneak beside Commoner and was looking intently at his status window. Commoner was slightly troubled by this since stat windows and other message windows were supposed to be invisible to all other players except the ones receiving them. The old man had also known about his quest to kill the Devil Mask mercenary king.
“How are you doing that?”
“No.”
Commoner turned around and saw that Grandma was standing behind him. He realized he was blocking the door and moved to the side so that she could jump down onto the ground in front of him. The two old people barely came up to his waist and he couldn’t help but think that they made a fitting couple for each other. He frowned slightly as Grandma’s answer registered in his mind.
“No? I’m not allowed to know?”
Grandfather Time chuckled, “You’ll probably find out eventually. It’s not a very well-guarded secret. Now then sonny, we should get going or else we’ll be late.” He clicked on Commoner’s status window and it blurred and a new window opened up in its place.
You have been requested to save the traitor Orion from the Orbsten dungeons. Difficulty: B. Description: Orion, the owner of the legendary sword, Mortality, has been captured by a guild that wishes to have the swords power for their own use. Save Orion and lead her to an area that is safe from the guild. Time left until execution: 8 hours 56 minutes.
“You took quite a bit of time getting here. We were getting worried that you wouldn’t be coming. Worrying is bad for people my age you know, since we could have a stroke at any time.”
‘The old man’s right. I don’t have time to worry about his abilities.’
After returning with Sasha from work they had spent the last day and several more hours working out his plan of attack. They had come to the conclusion that unless someone provided some sort of distraction then he would be doomed to fail in the rescue. Nevertheless he had memorized the entire guild building structure and the location to the dungeons as well as places guards were most likely to be.
“How long do you think it will take to get to Obsten if we take your carriage?”
Grandfather Time shook his head and his straw hat bobbed along with it.
“Not a good idea sonny boy, 3 hours walking. Two hours by horse. We don’t take the carriage or else the guards will notice us.”
‘Of course, these two are ranked in the lower 800’s so they’re probably too famous to not be noticed.’
“Then we’ll have an hour to get the girl out of there and run away.” Grandfather Time cocked his head in confusion at Commoner and he elaborated, “There’s about fifty players coming to reinforce the town’s defenses and they’ll arrive exactly four hours before the execution. I want to be in and out of there in an hour and have another hour to spare so that we can run away from them, if we’re taking the horses that is.”
Grandfather Time nodded as soon as Commoner had finished talking and a loud roaring sound resounded throughout the clearing and the carriage disappeared with a small pink box left in its place. Grandma bent over to pick it up and Grandfather Time began walking towards the horses, “Well then we better get going sonny boy, do you know how to ride a horse?”
Commoner smiled.
“As a matter of fact I do.”
Commoner climbed into the free horse and Grandma jumped behind Grandfather Time. He wrapped his legs around the animal’s sides and grabbed onto the reigns loosely. The horses immediately set off without instruction and Commoner was content to feel the breeze rustling through his cloak. The new armour seemed to allow him to feel the wind as though it were touching his bare skin. He gazed behind him and saw that the sun was already lowering in the sky. By the time they reached Obsten it would be nighttime.
~~~~
The burly man gazed at the peeling walls of the building and at its rusty metal door. The thing looked like it had been built a century ago and even the dark of the night couldn’t hide its deadly metal splinters. A single, pale lamp let off a small amount of light and the man looked from the uninviting entrance to the two people behind him.
“This place? Are you sure?”
One of them, a girl with black hair and green eyes, nodded her head while keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. She hadn’t said a word since she had met up with the man. He looked to the hooded figure next to her who also nodded their head and he sighed. He opened the door and winced as the metal shrieked in protest, a blast of warm air hit his body and he noticed that the inside of the building was a lot cozier than the outside.
A pretty girl with her hair curled into two ponytails approached the trio and smiled sweetly, “Please feel free to take a seat anywhere you’d like.”
The man moved towards the fireplace but the cloaked figure grabbed at his side to get his attention and then moved towards a piano that was occupying the corner of the room. Although the establishment had seemed rugged and derelict form the outside once they had gone in the man had immediately noticed the sweet smell home-made cooking wafting through the air and it was accompanied by the sound of music emanating from the piano they were walking towards.
“You play a good tune.”
The man called out to the pianist as he walked towards him. The man’s companions took their seats at a wooden table nearby as the man approached the pianist. The restaurant was empty except for themselves and the staff so he felt free to interrupt the song. To his surprise the pianist continued playing but turned his head to face the newcomer. The man could see that the pianist was quite old, probably in his forties or fifties. He was wearing a cowboy hat and had an enourmous bushel of hair growing on top of his lips which could only be described as some sort of horseshoe moustache.
“The name’s Titan.”
Titan casually introduced himself and the man grinned, “Good evening customer, ma name’s T. J Barnacus and I am the owner of this fine restaurant.”
“But you play so good that I thought you were a professional pianist.”
Barnacus laughed heartily at Titan’s compliment and finished the last notes of the song he was playing. Although Titan had thought that the song had seemed sad at first he realized as the song ended that at some point it had turned into a melody of hope. It was quite a nice tune.
“You know,” Titan gazed at the squashed nose and dull brown eyes of T. J Barnacus, “you seem a little strong for someone that’s in charge of a small, err, pretty place like this.”
“The word yer looking for is antiquated. It cost me a pretty penny to buy a place as lovely as this. I used ta be an adventurer just like you, but I’ve settled down now. Would yer like anything to eat? Sally.” He waved to the girl and she approached the table. Her fair hair was glimmering in the lamp and fire light that was illuminating the restaurant. Titan took one last look at T. J Barnacus before sitting down with his two companions at the table.
“You two want anything?” They shook their heads and as the waitress approached he smiled at her and she gave a look which was a cross between ‘ew don’t look at me’ and ‘I’m just here to serve you, nothing special’ she placed a menu in front of him and he skimmed through it.
“Steak and fries please.”
Sally curtly nodded and disappeared behind the counter. He turned back towards the Barnacus and brought out his most prized possession, a sword made of a metal which seemed to gleam white in the light. It was one of the twelve legendary swords of the Blessed Smith but Barnacus barely registered it as Titan waved it casually in the air.
“This here restaurant’s a peaceful establishment, I’ma have to ask ya to leave if yer going to be swinging weapons around in the air.”
Serena giggled a little at the owner’s words and Titan shamefacedly put the sword onto his lap. He had been hoping to get some sort of recognition from the old man. Instead he turned to face the screens which had been placed on the wall at the other side of the room. It was technology that seemed out of place in a restaurant that had a rural and fantasy setting but they displayed exactly what the trio had come to see. A town filled with lights and smiling children running around while wearing animal masks was displayed on the screen. It was the town of Obsten in the middle of festivities. A small number was displayed in white at the bottom left of the scene.
6h 29m
“Only six hours left until the execution begins. What do you think” he glanced at the hooded figure, “Mademoiselle?”
The figure turned to face him but didn’t give a reply. Since he had told her about his reason for joining her she hadn’t spoken much. Of course, he hadn’t had much information to share with her either. He had been visiting Trinim when he had been approached by a beautiful girl, the Blessed Smith, and had been given directions in his mind on how to meet with a certain player and a quest to guard the player who was known as Mademoiselle. He had met up with her as well as the green eyed girl, she called herself Serena, and Mademoiselle had asked them to escort her to this restaurant to watch the execution of some girl in Obsten. Apparently this execution would give them some clue as to why she would be attacked in a few hours.
“I think,”
Titan lifted his eyebrows as she began to speak.
“That this is going to be a very interesting show to watch.”
He was about to reply but Sally returned carrying a plate of chips and the smallest steak he had ever seen. He hadn’t even gotten any onions or salt. He thanked the waitress but she simply moved back to greet some more customers that had entered through the door. The restaurant would probably start filling as the execution time grew closer. It was extremely rare to be able to see a legendary sword and depending on who gained control of it the power of the entire continent could shift in their favour. Many guilds would be keeping a close eye on events as they unfolded.
One of the adventurers saw Titan and his eyes widened as they saw the sword that was resting on his lap. He grinned and the adventurer quickly moved to the other side of the room and motioned for his teammates to do the same. They broke into loud whispers as soon as they had sat down and shot furtive glances at him. His grin widened with each glance.
‘It’s always nice to be recognized.’
“Idiot?”
He glanced in surprise as Serena spoke to him for the first time. The word had been phrased more as a question than an insult. She was watching the group of adventurers that were whispering and looked troubled. The hooded figure nodded at her words.
“I agree with her, you want everyone in the city to come and try to kill you? You can’t defend me if every guild in town comes looking to take that sword from you.”
Titan’s grin had faded and was replaced with a frown, “Relax, I’m well known. Nobody would try to attack us.”
The girls both turned away from him to look at the screen without considering his words and he frowned.
‘And I thought hanging around with two hot chicks would be fun.’
~~~~
“That’ll be two silver coins each if you want to enter.”
Commoner’s horse strutted to a halt as the town guard approached them but Grandfather Time and Grandma’s horse simply pranced onwards as they threw their silver coins into the air and the guard deftly caught them in mid-air. Commoner decided to throw the coins to the guard as well and consciously pushed the hood further over his face. Even if he was on a quest he still had to be careful that nobody recognized him. He was currently in a town that was run by a guild notorious for recruiting players by any means necessary. He let his horse walk slowly down the main street towards the execution stand as he thought about what he knew of the Sunfire guild.
According to both research and the discussion he had had with Grandfather Time on the way to Obsten, the Sunfire guild was currently ranked 15 in the continent. The rankings were determined through various factors including number of members and relative strength of members, but it was generally accepted that to be ranked within the top 20 you have to be a pretty strong guild capable of fighting on par with the rest of the world’s guilds. Currently only six of the ten continents were populated and the reason Commoner hadn’t seen many races other than humans was because the nearby area he had landed in was ruled by a human king who was slightly racist. The king had declared that several races had to pay increased taxes and register themselves upon their arrival at certain major towns or the capital city Trinim.
The Sunfire guild itself had about a hundred people stationed in Obsten but the rest were either in nearby outposts looking out for Commoner to arrive or they were simply exploring and levelling up as most players normally do. That had meant that there were only two types of players left to guard the execution stand and Orion inside the dungeon, the kind that wasn’t trusted to leave the city without deserting the guild and the kind that were strong and loyal enough to entrust positions of power to.
‘Open quest: Orion’
He had discovered that if he simply thought of a key word related to the quest like the word ‘Orion’ then he could easily open the window for it.
You have been requested to save the traitor Orion from the Orbsten dungeons. Difficulty: B. Description: Orion, the owner of the legendary sword, Mortality, has been captured by a guild that wishes to have the swords power for their own use. Save Orion and lead her to an area that is safe from the guild. Time left until execution: 5 hours 36 minutes.
It had taken a little longer than they expected to reach Obsten but Grandfather Time had been confident that he and Grandma could handle anybody the Sunfire guild had hired or sent to guard the execution stand. As far as the intelligence went the only people that could hope to come lose to bringing them trouble would be the rank #5051 Samurai or the guild leader, Chapman, who was ranked #11783.
“Well then sonny boy, you have half an hour, maybe more but assume less.”
Commoner’s thoughts went flying out the window as he looked up and realized that their horses had already reached the execution platform. It was far smaller than he had expected it to be, a simple platform only half a meter high and built to look exquisite rather than durable. Carvings of various monsters being slain had been engraved in the wood and the floor of the platform. In the middle of the platform was a large guillotine and its blade viciously shone in the moonlight. Various lights had been placed on four small poles that jutted out of each corner of the platform.
‘Samurai.’
Commoner hadn’t seen the high ranked player before today but it was easy to spot him. A slender man in a black kimono with silver sword symbols etched into its material was walking to and from one end of the stand to another as though he were pacing impatiently. He had his black hair done in a top knot hair style and he was wearing sandals similar to the old mans. Despite his get-up he looked distinctly western in appearance but the most prominent give away was the fact that six large swords of different varieties were floating around his head and swirling around him. It was as if each sword had a life of its own and occasionally two or more would clash into each other and have a short fight with each other, to the delight of the bystanders watching the famous man as he patrolled.
As Commoner’s horse passed by the guild member he seemed to shift his head towards Commoner. Commoner tensed but then Samurai turned back to walk another round of the platform and he relaxed, allowing his horse to take him past the platform and towards the side entrance of the guild. As he continued on his way he looked back and saw that Grandfather Time and Grandma had gotten off their horse and it had disappeared. They were calmly wading through the crowd and a glance sent by the old man to Commoner let him know that as soon as he was out of sight the attack would begin and he would have to rush into the dungeon to get Orion out of her cell.
‘I really hope this is as easy as running in and running out.’
~~~~
Grandfather time watched as his horse disappeared into the crowd and patted Grandma’s bronze armour. She glanced at him shrewdly but left without a word, heading in the direction of Obsten’s centre. He counted no less than fifteen guards surrounding the execution platform. Security was rather lax while there was nobody on the stand to guard. The only one that seemed vaguely prepared for an attack was Samurai. Grandfather Time walked up to the nearest guard and tapped him on the shoulder. The guard looked down at him and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh me, oh my, if you would please tell the people to evacuate sonny boy, I do think a lot of people are about to start dying.”
The guard immediately jumped back and in a second Grandfather Time found himself surrounded by the guards. Samurai had stayed back just in case there were others attacking.
‘Smart.’
“Halt!”
The initial guard he had approached shouted out to him even though he wasn’t moving and before he knew it the square had been evacuated, giving him no place to run or hide. They had been well prepared for any attack. It was becoming a spectacle that was guaranteed to draw the attention of all eyes, just as Grandfather Time wanted.
‘That’s fine. I had no intention to run from the beginning.’
"Oh me, oh my, what ever is an old man to do with so many weapons pointed towards him."
Grandfather time skipped lightly on his feet so that he was directly in the middle of the guards and grinned at them while waving his hands around him, mimicking the sign of eternity in the air.
As the keeper of time you have used the time of people’s futures to open the gates of the past. Skill: Time’s Arbiter has been activated. Duration: 60 minutes.
“Goodbye sonny boys.”
*Crack* “My back!” *crash* *crack* “GAH”
The guards cried out in pain as they suddenly experienced incredible pains and flopped over on the ground, their faces wrinkled and aged as though they had suddenly gained sixty years in a moment. The fifteen of them disappeared as they died and Grandfather Time turned to face the only player left, Samurai, in the eyes. He felt refreshed and invigorated as he towered over the guild member. He flexed his hands and saw that they had lost their light tan and wrinkles, turning soft and delicate as a newborns. He rubbed his face and felt that it too had lost its age and reverted back to how it had been in his teenage years. He had also grown taller. He was the same size he had been in his prime, since he had started to shrink as he had gotten older. He smiled at the player in front of him but found that Samurai had been joined by two more players.
“So this is da famous Grandfather Time. And I thought you were an old man, das scary dat is. Glad dey hired me to be da extra security.”
The man to Samurai’s right, a large white man with boxing wrapping around his arms and his bare feet, was talking with some sort of strange accent. He looked confident as he faced Grandfather Time. He was dressed in a gi and had white pants on, clearly some sort of martial arts class.
“Hmm, to make all those level two hundred guards die instantly, truly a frightening man. To think I was simply hired to make some stars appear at the end of the show.”
To Samurai’s left was a man covered in tattoos that swirled around his bare chest and arms. He had a pair of brown paints on and was riding on top of a see through silver wolf.
‘That’s not any old spirit wolf.’
“So you are the famous God Caller, Fenric.”
The man bowed slightly as Grandfather Time acknowledged him and the fighter in the gi seemed to scowl. The spirit wolf snarled at Grandfather Time as his gaze drifted towards it. It looked like an ordinary wolf except that it was see through and covered in red symbols which drifted across its skin like they were lily pads on water. It was also the size of a small car and its fangs were the size of two full sized cats. The wolf was one of the lesser gods of its kind and the man riding it was Fenric, a person with the hidden class God Caller which allowed him to summon gods to aid him in battle.
‘He will be a troublesome one.’
Grandfather Time raised his hand and his hammer appeared in it.
You have equipped item: Majesty
The three players in front of him tensed and he grinned as he calmly flexed his hands and spun the hammer around in the air, he was still getting used to the youthful body he had been granted by his ability. He could feel all of the strength he had had in his youth filling him and soothing his previously aching body.
“Sorry”
“Sorry”
The three players and Grandfather Time looked behind him as they heard a couple of voices stating their apologies. Several other guards, presumably the ones that had been posted at the gate, were disappearing as two similar looking people slid their swords out of their stomachs and killed them. The pair walked towards the tense group and calmly stood beside Grandfather Time.
“Wow you’re huge.”
“So you were hired by the old woman too? How much is she paying you?”
“Naughty that’s rude, introductions first.”
The male, a boy only in his early twenties, laughed as he was chided by his sister, a girl that seemed to be in her late teens. He completely ignored the three high level players that were in front of him and put his fist out for Grandfather Time to pump. When Grandfather Time showed no intention of doing so he shrugged.
“So I’m Naughty, this,” he pointed to the girl beside him who was smiling bashfully at the tall and muscular Asian man in front of her, “is Hippy. We’re here to break out that player killer girl, Orion. You too?”
Grandfather Time grunted and nodded his head.
‘The Blessed Smith sent more people than I thought she would.’
“Well then,”
Naughty and Hippy looked at each other and held out their swords lazily
“Guess we’ll kill the dog.”
As though as invisible switch had been flipped Samurai and the fighter immediately ran at Grandfather Time and Fenric and his wolf lunged at the twins. Grandfather Time grinned as the twins and Fenric jumped back into the alleys and out of sight. The two charging towards him found their charge blocked by a swing of his massive hammer.
The fight had begun.